A 32-day relay made a stop in Reading on Friday, July 7, to inspire people to protect the planet and take action to reach net zero.
Thousands of runners, walkers, wheelers, cyclists, swimmers, rowers, surfers and skiers have taken part in the 2,661km-long inaugural British Running out of Time climate relay, which began at Ben Nevis on June 10 and ended at Big Ben on Tuesday.
The baton visited the Royal Meteorological Society and Reading School, where it was passed around by every student and member of staff, before arriving at the University of Reading.
A conference held on the Whiteknights campus the same day meant 200 of the world’s leading climate experts were present to welcome the baton in.
Dan Thompson, Running out of Time co-founder, said: “It’s been yet another amazing day on this relay, which in itself has been extraordinary.
“In this country, we’ve turned around views on smoking and the wearing of seatbelts in cars, they’re things that seem really obvious now but it took decades to get that message across.
“We’ve got to keep talking, and keep making sure that people understand what the issue is, what they can do about it, and change the narrative so we can end up in a better world where energy is cheap, clean and sustainable.”
Organised by social enterprise The World Relay, the relay covers 35 different counties and 50 cities and towns, including Glasgow, Edinburgh, Newcastle, York, Leeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham, Oxford, Bristol, Cardiff, Swansea, Reading and London.
Participants have also had the chance to pass through National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, such as the ancient Ridgeway in Wiltshire, the Brecon Beacons and the Peak District.
The project serves to showcase the many people, places and organisations which are already dedicated to sustainability and preserving the environment, and is the biggest sporting celebration of climate action and nature ever attempted across the country.
Prof Robert Van de Noort, vice-chancellor of the University of Reading, said: “The Running out of Time relay is trying to pass the message of climate change in a way that is both sustainable and fun. The baton has our Climate Stripes on it so it’s very personal to us here at Reading, and we’re proud to be one of the stops.
“We can’t tell other people how they can combat climate change if we don’t do it ourselves. It’s a long term plan, we’re changing how we operate as a university, how we run out buildings, how we travel, we’re constantly pushing to reduce our own carbon footprint.”
Prof Andrew Carlton-Perez, of the university’s Meteorology department, added: “In the conference this week, we’ve had some really great projects partnering with meteorological services in Africa to help them have better forecasts in months ahead.
“That way, when these extremes happen, they can have some forewarning and can prepare for the worst impacts, be that drought, flooding or landslides. It’s been really exciting.”
The visit to the University was part of the relay’s South East and Thames Valley portion, which consists of 40 smaller stages through Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckinghamshire.
Along the way, the baton will be carried by wild swimmers on the Thames and take part in a ‘Green Mile’ at Iffley Road Stadium, Oxford – the home of the late Sir Roger Bannister’s record-breaking first sub-four-minute mile.
Cllr John Ennis, lead councillor for climate strategy and transport, was present and highlighted Reading Borough Council’s commitment to getting on top of climate change.
He said: “It’s great to be here. We don’t want to forget that Reading University is leading the way worldwide for climate change, we’re so proud.
“It’s important for us to come here and learn, because ultimately we’ve got to come out and convince the residents of Reading to make changes.
“We’re trying to make changes to transport, we’re working on bus lanes and more walking and cycle ways. Some of them are not immensely popular, so we need to have an open dialogue with the people of Reading and the University can certainly help in doing that through events like this.”
